Monday's Menu

On the Sunday before Memorial Day, I decided I wanted some baked beans with our grillin' food the next day. I have never made baked beans before unless you count opening a can and heating them in a saucepan. I have never even made them by dressing up a can of beans -- which is the only way I've ever seen them made.

But, having had the busy weekend we had, I REALLY did not want to the store. Seriously. So I found this little recipe on allrecipes.com and tried it out.

OH. MY. WORD. They were so good. And Hubby and I aren't even really fans of baked beans.

So I pass it on to you at this, the beginning of summer and grilling.

I used pinto beans because I didn't have navy beans as was originally called for. I also don't generally keep molasses around but it is perfectly acceptable to substitute honey one to one.

Which is what I did.

And, honestly, I can't imagine these could have been any better.


Baked Beans

2 cups navy or pinto beans
1/2 lb. bacon, cut in pieces
1 onion, finely diced
3 Tablespoons molasses or honey
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar

1. Soak beans in water overnight. Cook the beans until tender the next day (using soak water) approximately 1 to 2 hours. Drain and reserve the liquid.

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Place a portion of beans in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with part of the onions and bacon pieces. Layer more beans on top of that and then cover with onions and bacon pieces. Continue layering until all are in dish.

3. In a saucepan, combine molasses/honey, salt, pepper, dry mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and pour over beans. At this point, I gave it all a stir just to mix it all up. Pour in reserved bean water just enough to cover the beans. Cover the dish with foil or a lid.

4. Bake for 3 or 4 hours until beans are tender and preferred consistency. Add more liquid if necessary halfway through cooking.